I have a tattoo on my back that I would like to use as a representation for this project. It’s a Greenlandic figure of a woman.
I got it when I moved to Aarhus in 2012, and I think the meaning of it has changed multiple times over the years. In the beginning, I just thought that it was pretty, and it was also my very first tattoo. But recently, it started to stand for something else. It has become something that represents my identity and I realized more and more that we, as Greenlanders, don’t know much about our own culture because it’s been so heavily christianized. We don’t remember what our culture was like in the olden days, before the Danes came and colonized Greenland.
East Greenland was colonized a lot later than West Greenland, so it was not until 1894, I think, that our lifestyle became more “Danish” or Western. Life has progressed very fast since then and I think that’s why so many people still struggle with identity issues and, also, with suicide. My mom still tells me stories from the time before colonization but I don’t think that many children or young people get that from their parents because they simply don’t remember. And we don’t learn about it in school. I did learn about the Inuit religion in high school but it was very shallow, and I miss knowing more about my own culture.
Since the Black Lives Matter movement has been so present on social media over the last year, Inuit people started talking more about racism and the fact that Danes know so little about Greenland. But I also think that us Greenlanders don’t know enough about ourselves and our culture and I really hope that this will change in the future, that we get more educated about our culture, the old religions, how we lived and how our mindset was back then, and still is deep down in our minds and hearts. Because we are not Danes, we are not European, we are so very different. And this is a strength that we have to relearn to use. Because we are and have always been strong and resilient.
Qitinni kakiorneqarpunga, kakiorneralu uunga projekt-imut takussutissatut atorniarpara. Arnaavoq kalaallisut isikkulik.
2012-mi Aarhus-imut nuukkama pisaarivara, kakiornerullu isumaa ukiut ingerlaneranni allanngoqattaarnikuuvoq. Aallaqqaammut kusagiinnaraluarpara, kakiortinneralu taanna siullerpaajunikuuvoq. Kisianni ungasinngittumi allatut isumaqalersimavoq. Kinaassutsinnut takussutissanngorsimavoq, aamma paasiartulersimavara, uagut kalaallit, kultur-erput pillugu ilisimasakittuusugut kristumiunngorsagaarujussuarneq peqqutaalluni. Nunasiaataalinngikkallaratta taamani kultur-erput qanoq issimaneranik ilisimasaqarpallaanngilagut.
Tunumiut kitaamiunit kingulliungaatsiarlutik nunasiaataalersimapput. Inooriaaserput aatsaat 1894-mi “qallungaanngornerusimasoq” imaluunniit kitaamiunngornerusimasoq ilimagivara. Inooriaaseq taamani sukkasuumik ineriartortinneqarsimavoq, taamaammat ilimagivara inuit amerlasuut kinaassutsimut tunngatillugu suli artorsartartut, aamma imminortarnerup tungaatigut. Anaanama suli oqaluttuuttarpaanga inuuneq nunasiaataalinnginnermi qanoq issimaneranik, aamma ilimagivara meeqqat inuusuttullu amerlasuut tamanna pillugu angajoqqaaminnik oqaluttuunneqarneq ajortut, pissutigalugu eqqaamannginnamikku. Tamanna atuarfimmi ilinniarneq ajorparput. GU-mi Inuit upperisaat pillugu ilikkagaqalaarnikuuvunga, ikkatsunnguamilli, taamaammat kultur-era pillugu paasisaqarnerorusukkaluarpunga.
Ukioq kingulleq Black Lives Matter-i tusagassiutitigut assut tusarsaavoq, inuit racisme pillugu aammalu qallunaat kalaallit nunaat pillugu ilisimasakitsuaraanerat pillugu assut oqallisigilersimavaat. Kisianni aamma eqqarsarpunga uagut kalaallit inuiattut oqaluttuarisaanerput pillugu ilisimasakippallaartugut, neriuppungalu tamanna siunissami allanngorumaartoq. Kultur-erput pillugu, upperisarsiorikuunerput pillugu, qanoq inooriaaseqarsimanerput qanorlu eqqarsartariaaseqarsimanerput pillugit ilinniartinneqarlualerumaartugut neriuutigivara. Qallunaajunngilagummi, europamiuunngilagut, allaanerujussuullutalu. Nakuussutiginikuusarpullu ateqqikkumaaripput takorloortarpara. Pissutigalugu nukittujuaannarnikuugatta aatsorneqarsinnaanatalu, taamani massakkullu.
